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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27476908">Carry on, my wayward sons</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfinityUndone/pseuds/InfinityUndone'>InfinityUndone</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>No Straight Roads (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Tragedy, Bittersweet Ending, Character Death, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hospitalization, Sad, Terminal Illnesses, im warning you now, this is one of the saddest things ive ever written</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:41:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,756</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27476908</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfinityUndone/pseuds/InfinityUndone</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Neon J had made peace with his fate twice. The first was as a young man seeing his first taste of combat. The second was an hour ago, when he had been told of his diagnosis. But seeing his sons for what was probably the last time made him realize he wasn’t ready to leave them either.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>1010 &amp; Neon J. (No Straight Roads)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>100</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Carry on, my wayward sons</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As long as 1010 had known, Neon J had always been there. He had been the first thing they had seen when they opened their eyes for the first time. He was their leader, their manager, their creator, and their father. And they thought he would always be there.</p><p>In the last few years, things had changed. 1010 had matured a bit from reckless teenagers to responsible young adults. And they had started doing more for the group. No longer did Neon J write all of the songs and choreograph all of the dance numbers. Instead, his role became that of most other managers, mostly taking care of concert bookings and public relations.</p><p>That didn’t mean that everything had changed, however. Neon J still led them. And they still needed him, just less than they had when their career started. He watched with pride as they grew in independence over the years, and supported them in whatever individual endeavors they pursued. They thought he always would.</p><p>But Neon J was not a robot like them. He was still human enough to die.</p><p>It started small: every so often, Neon J would start coughing. As time passed, it became more and more pronounced, to the point where he couldn’t get through a conversation without being interrupted by a coughing fit. 1010 could hear the sounds of him hacking and coughing echoing through his workshop, or from inside his room at night.</p><p>He became weaker, too. Where once he had marched, he now merely walked. The energy with which he led them through their dance routines dwindled until it was no longer there. Doing things like going to NSR meetings seemed to suck the strength right out of him, and he would collapse into bed as soon as he got home.</p><p>This was part of the reason 1010 started taking on more responsibilities. Neon J’s workaholic tendencies weren’t helping his health at all, and so they did anything they could to lighten the load. And it worked… for a while.</p><p>But nothing could stop his body from becoming more and more sick. The coughing got worse and his weakness got worse, until it all came to a head that horrible evening, when 1010 saw the alert flash in front of their vision and sprinted across the mansion to his aid.</p><p>They found Neon J collapsed in his workshop, unconscious and barely breathing. 911 was called, the ambulance showed up and whisked him away to the hospital.</p><p>And not long later, 1010 found themselves sitting silently in the cold waiting room of the hospital, waiting for news.</p><p>A doctor approached them. The group recognized her as Dr Najima, Neon J’s regular doctor for many years.</p><p>“Doctor Najima, how is he?” White asked as they stood up from the uncomfortable hospital chairs to meet her.</p><p>The doctor looked grave. “Not well, I’m afraid.”</p><p>“What’s wrong with him?” demanded Red. “Is it his cybernetics?”</p><p>“No. The problem is in his remaining biological organs. Have you ever heard of a chemical called Maxifrone-2?”</p><p>“No.” said a puzzled White.</p><p>“Yes, we have.” Blue spoke up. “But Dad always called it the Blue Mist.” He looked at his brothers significantly.</p><p>“Wait… from that one battle he told us about? The Battle of Kosat, right?” Green asked.</p><p>The memory came back to them, of Neon J animatedly talking about the battle, how it had been a huge victory for his troops, and how it had been his squadron's first time winning under his leadership. He spoke of it with pride, seeing it both a tactical and a personal victory. He had described with fervor the strange blue clouds that had rolled towards them across the battlefield, and how they had fought through it.</p><p>“I did some reading on that after hearing that story. During the Border Wars, Maxifrone-2 was deployed onto battlefields in the hope of slowing down the enemy and weakening them. The use of it was abandoned once they realized it didn’t really harm people.” Blue explained.</p><p>“Okay, cool, but what does it have to do with Dad?” Yellow wondered.</p><p>“The effects of Maxifrone-2 are harmful, but the symptoms do not appear until years and years after exposure. It settles in the organs of those who breathe it in, and slowly poisons them over the years. It’s an affliction that was only discovered recently in those who were exposed to it during warfare all those years ago.” said Dr Najima.</p><p>“So that’s what he’s got? He breathed it in over thirty years ago and it’s only showing up now?” White asked.</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“Can you cure it?” Green asked.</p><p>Dr Najima sighed. “It’s incurable, but it is treatable in the early stages. However, his case is no longer in the early stages, and hasn’t been for a long time. Coughing is one of the symptoms of the poison entering its final stages.”</p><p>“Wait, what?” said Blue in alarm. “If that’s true, then how did anyone ever catch it early enough for it to be treated?”</p><p>“The only symptom of Maxifrone-2 poisoning until the final stages is discoloration of the extremities.”</p><p>It took 1010 a moment to realize what that meant, but then it hit them like a ton of bricks. “His limbs are robotic…” White muttered, a numb feeling of terror growing in his processor.</p><p>Dr Najima nodded sympathetically. “I’m afraid that meant there wasn’t much chance of finding it early.”</p><p>“So what does that mean?” Yellow asked shakily.</p><p>“It means that Neon J does not have long to live.”</p><p>Dead silence greeted her words.</p><p>“That can’t be right.” whispered Green after a moment.</p><p>“I- what do you mean, not long to live? Do you mean days or weeks or-” Yellow began.</p><p>“I mean hours.” sighed the doctor.</p><p>There was more silence until Red broke it. “Shit, we’re just giving up? There has to be something we can do to save him! He’s already mostly robotic, right? His brain is mostly computer, right? Why not just make him fully robotic?!”</p><p>“A procedure like that requires months of preparation and facilities that we don’t have in Vinyl City. It’s impossible to do it before he dies.” answered Dr Najima quietly.</p><p>“Y-you can’t just give up! He’s your patient! You can’t just let him die!” Red implored desperately.</p><p>“Red, stop.” White told him. “Even if it was possible, Dad wouldn’t do it.”</p><p>“How do you know that?! He’s not even that old!”</p><p>“Because,” snapped White, “if he was going to turn himself into a full robot, he’d have done it a long time ago!”</p><p>“That’s true.” Green supplied quietly. “He’s never wanted to lose his remaining organic parts…”</p><p>Red glared at the two of them, black oil tears gleaming at the corner of his eyes. “So, that’s it then? He’s just giving up?”</p><p>“Red,” White said hopelessly, “there’s just nothing we can do.”</p><p>As the words sunk in, Red’s angry expression was replaced with one of pure anguish, and he turned away from them with a choked sob. Blue and Yellow were staring into space with similar looks on their faces, trying to come to terms with the news. Green also appeared to be on the verge of tears, and White felt numb inside as he tried to process what was happening.</p><p>“Can we see him?” he heard himself ask.</p><p>Dr Najima must have answered yes, because then they were following her through the sterile white hallways of the hospital, walking past doctors and nurses and patients and countless other people who must have been feeling the exact same things they did.</p><p>Eventually Dr Najima opened a door, and led them into a small room where Neon J lay.</p><p>1010 all felt collective lumps in their throats when they saw him. He was hooked up to several machines with blinking lights and wires attached to his scarred, dark purple torso. His screen was off, but his chest rose and fell with ragged breaths.</p><p>Wordlessly, they went to him and assembled around his bedside. Blue and Red went around to the right side of the bed, while Green, Yellow, and White knelt on the left side. Dr Najima silently left the room to give them privacy, closing the door behind her.</p><p>For a few painful moments, none of them could find any words to say, until White forced himself to. “Dad? Can you hear us?” he asked quietly, squeezing his robotic hand.</p><p>They thought they weren’t going to get an answer, but then Neon J’s fingers tightened around White’s and his screen flickered back on. His voice barely above a whisper, he rasped <em>“S-sons?”</em></p><p>“Yeah, it’s us. We’re right here, Dad.” Blue said quickly, taking his other hand.</p><p>Neon J started struggling to sit up, causing White to exclaim “No! Don’t do that!”</p><p>Then, Neon J started coughing violently, the sounds echoing around the room and cutting into their ears. Green gave an audible sob and Red couldn’t look at anyone.</p><p>Neon J sank back into his pillow and looked at them, his screen flickering. “Troops…you’re here.”</p><p>“Yeah.” said Yellow. “You thought we wouldn’t be?” He tried to smile, but instead just looked like he was about to cry.</p><p>“I’m sorry… you have to see me like this.”</p><p>“Don’t be!” Red said fiercely. “I.. we…” He trailed off, trying not to lose his composure.</p><p>Neon J chuckled weakly. “Back in the day… we made so many jokes about that mist… saying the enemy was… too stupid to notice it wasn’t working… and laughing about how it didn’t stop us at all… I guess it did do its job… just a few decades too late…” The end of his sentence turned into another brutal coughing fit.</p><p>“W-we should have made you go to the doctor. When you started getting sick.” Green whispered, a hitch in his voice.</p><p>“Don’t blame yourselves… I’m a grown man… and besides… nothing could have been done anyway… Dr Najima told me… it was already too advanced.” Neon J told them.</p><p>“Yeah, but…” Green’s voice broke and he dissolved into quiet sobs. Yellow patted him on the shoulder to try to calm him down.</p><p>“Please, Dad.” Green choked out after a couple minutes. “We’re not ready to lose you…”</p><p>Neon J had made peace with his fate twice. The first was as a young man seeing his first taste of combat. The second an hour ago, when he had been told of his diagnosis. But seeing his sons for what was probably the last time made him realize he wasn’t ready to leave them either.</p><p>“You’ll do fine… without me. I know-” his words were cut off by more pained coughs.</p><p>“I know you all can take care of yourselves… and each other.” he finished when the coughing fit was over.</p><p>“It doesn’t matter if we can! We still <em>need</em> you!” Yellow burst out. He lowered his head. “Please, don’t die…”</p><p>“Nothing can stop that now, troops.” was all Neon J could say.</p><p>Yellow whimpered and began sobbing into his hands. Green’s tears of oil were staining the bed sheets black. Red was openly crying, and Blue and White were the only ones keeping their composure, albeit just barely.</p><p>“W-we’ll make sure the Metro Division s-stays in good shape.” Blue said, trying not to let his voice break.</p><p>“I know you will…” Neon J started coughing violently again, and Blue finally broke down and started weeping at the sound.</p><p>“And we’ll take care of each other. I swear.” White said quietly. “You won’t have to worry.”</p><p>Neon J just wanted to close his eyes and drift off into peaceful nothingness. At White’s words, he finally knew he could do that.</p><p>“Goodbye, my sons…” Neon J whispered, and he surrendered himself to the darkness, letting the pain fall away.</p><p>When his screen faded black, White felt his own tears start, and he clung even harder to his father’s hand.</p><p>Neon J breathed his last a few hours later.</p>
<hr/><p>The funeral was three days later. It was a small affair, with only 1010, the other NSR artists, and a few old friends of Neon J in attendance.</p><p>He was laid out with full military honors in his casket. His medals were pinned to his chest, and he was surrounded by flowers.</p><p>1010 shed no tears during the funeral. They had already wept all they could.</p><p>DJ Subatomic Supernova had given them offers of condolences with none of his usual grandeur or ego, and through the service, he had stared at the bright blue sky and the sunlight falling on the casket, and thought about how one day, the sun and all the other stars in the universe would burn out and fade into nothing, and how it wasn’t fair.</p><p>Team Sayu gave them flowers and sympathy cards, not quite knowing what else to do. 1010 accepted them.</p><p>Yinu hugged each of them in turn. She knew all too well the pain they were going through.</p><p>Eve cried and gave them her condolences.</p><p>Tatiana gave them her deepest sympathies. There was so much to figure out in regards to NSR, but that could wait.</p><p>The outpouring of sympathy from fans was enormous. For a while, it was impossible to go fifty feet in the Metro Division without finding some kind of memorial to Neon J, sometimes graffiti on a wall, other times a picture with flowers or candles under it. There was even a candlelight vigil held in the main square. 1010 received more letters and care packages than they ever had before.</p><p>It was two months before they returned to their normal routines. It was a rough two months. Despite how big Barracca Mansion was, it somehow felt twice as big and empty missing one of its inhabitants.</p><p>It was mostly up to White to keep everyone together. He comforted his younger brothers and led them as they figured out what exactly to do next. With all of that, he had little time of his own to grieve. He didn’t mind, pouring himself into their work kept his pain away.</p><p>Blue kept seeing Neon J out of the corner of his eye. There were times when he half expected to see him walk through the door, or hear him shouting “Atten-SHUN!” across the house. Sometimes, when he had just woken up, he would delude himself into thinking he would go downstairs and see Neon J sitting at the table. When he woke up a bit more, he would remember that would never happen.</p><p>Red buried his grief as far down as he could. The only times he would let it out were at night, when he would lie awake and think about his father, and all the things he would never get to say to him, and try not to cry loud enough to wake up his brothers.</p><p>Yellow spent most of his time wandering around outside, from dawn til dusk. He would sit in the garden, stare at the sky, and let his mind wander. It was his way of trying to come to terms with Neon J’s death.</p><p>Green took over as the new roboticist. Once, he had loved being in the workshop, tinkering with parts. Neon J would be in there too, usually, and the two of them would work in companionable silence. But now, the silence weighed on him heavily, and reminded him of the grief that would never completely leave.</p><p>1010 eventually returned to their concerts and regular duties. They wrote new songs, came up with new dance moves, and gave new performances. But their hearts weren’t in it. None of the new songs had any spark in them. It felt wrong to be practicing their dances without Neon J ordering them around. After their performances, they would ride back to the mansion in silence. Everything they did now felt wrong without Neon J there.</p><p>And so, 1010 made the painful decision to break up.</p><p>They held their last concert almost two years after Neon J’s death. The fans cried and begged them not to leave. Tatiana asked them many times “Are you sure you want to do this?” They asked themselves many times “Are we sure we want to do this?”</p><p>But they did. It was the only way they felt they could move on.</p><p>And so, 1010 ended. The five brothers went to tread their own paths.</p><p>No matter where those paths took them, they never forgot each other, or the man who started it all. Their leader, manager, creator, and father. The man they owed everything to.</p>
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